‘It’s So Phony’: Sanders Slammed Clinton’s ‘I’m With Her’ Slogan, Book Reveals

In a new book on the second failed presidential campaign of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the author reveals that Clinton’s rival for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, refused to say “I’m with her” in a campaign ad after she clinched the nomination.

In "Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign," by The Hill's Amie Parnes and Sidewire's Jonathan Allen, the authors discuss Sanders’ response to a script for the campaign ad he received in September.

The ad reportedly focused on Clinton’s positions on issues that Sanders had campaigned on, such as healthcare and minimum wage. At the end of the script, he was asked to use the former first lady’s campaign slogan.

“It’s so phony!” Sanders said. “I don’t want to say that.”

He did not end up declaring that he was “with her” in the ad, and the Clinton campaign ended up ditching it completely over doubts that the senator actually supported the Democratic Party nominee.

“People felt that it was him delivering his message, not Hillary’s,” said a Clinton campaign aide who had seen focus group reactions, the Hill reported. "People didn’t feel that it was an authentic pitch for her and what she wanted to do. It even had some backlash in folks saying that he’s not really supporting her.”

Sanders endorsed Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in July, which led to approximately 1,800 of his delegates walking out of the event in protest and storming media row outside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.